Trusted Financial Advice Will Always Be Trending
“Enabling our clients to live out the hopes and dreams they attach to their wealth drives our approach at Citadel,” says Nic Horn, Citadel Director and Regional Head in KwaZulu-Natal.
Securing and growing wealth so that our clients can choose their dreams requires a deep understanding of them and the markets. Part of understanding the markets is knowing which trends are impacting the market and the way people want to invest.
Citadel Advisory Partner, Clare Ramsay, says, “There are four key trends that are impacting the way we invest for our clients.” She lists them as technology, externalisation of wealth, wealth transfer and relationships. Although none of these are new trends, she says, they are deeply embedded in the way we manage wealth.
Technology
Clients are looking for technology to enhance their investment outcomes while keeping their information safe. Horn says, “Technology is an enabler for us. It makes our processes quicker and enables us to implement our solution per client in real-time in a very dynamic environment.”
Externalisation of wealth
“Diversifying wealth with a global portfolio is becoming increasingly important for local investors,” says Ramsay. She explains that all South Africans can effectively take R11 million offshore annually, subject to certain approvals.
Horn says, “Diversification is a risk mitigation strategy that means holding assets, in a portfolio, that behave differently given the same set of circumstances. It is not about transferring money abroad for the sake of it; it is about ensuring that you minimise risk while maximising global investment opportunities.”
Wealth transfer
Wealth transfer to beneficiaries beyond your lifetime is about ensuring that wealth is protected for future generations, but it goes beyond that. Horn explains, “Estate planning is about making sure that everyone is cared for at a time of their greatest emotional and financial vulnerability. It means life can continue when you are no longer around to provide.”
Relationships
Horn says, “Citadel clients still want to have a conversation with their advisor. They want someone who can hold their hand through an increasingly multifaceted financial journey. It is our role to turn the complexity of the financial markets into practical simplicity.”
Citadel has put relationships at the centre of its strategy for over 32 years. It is for this reason that the company has more than R107 billion assets under management and a client retention rate of above 99%.
Meeting Clients’ Needs, Holistically
Ramsay explains that while Citadel is first an investment advice company, it is backed up by a leading and acclaimed in-house asset management team, and a vertically integrated structure supplies a holistic financial solution to clients. Citadel’s services include investment advice, asset management, fiduciary, foreign exchange and treasury, investment administration and philanthropy. “It is about meeting the needs of our clients at every point on their wealth journey,” she says.
Website: http://www.citadel.co.za
Tel: 031 815 8800
Address: Unit 2, 1st Floor, The Skye, 2 Vuna Close, Umhlanga Ridge
Words by: Gaye Crossley